Island



' form.

Patented January 5, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PELEG AMES CONGDON, OF'CRANSTON, RHODE ISLAND.

LACING.

SPECIFICATION forming pant of Letters Patent No. 748,703, dated January5, 1904.

Application filed February 4. 1902. Serial No. 92.597. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, PELEG JAMES CoNGDoN, of Cranston, in the county ofProvidence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Lacings; and I do hereby declare the followingspec fication, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,forming a part of the same, lto be a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof.

The invention relates to lacings for shoes,

corsets, and the like, and particularly to the application of a metallicstiifener to the end of a tubular lacing.

The invention consists of certain features and combinations of partshereinafter described and claimed.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of a flat tnbular lacing embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of a flatmetallic stiffener. Fig. 3 is a plan View of a portion of a flat tubularlacing with the metallic stiffener inserted in the end thereof. Fig. 4is a transverse section on the line 1 1, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an edge viewshowing the end of the lacing folded over. Fig. 6 is a plan View showingthe end of the lacing with the lacing and the inclosed stiener bent intoU Fig. 7 is a transverse section on the line 2 2, Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is aplan view of a metallic stiffener bent into U form before being insertedinto the end of the lacing. Fig. 9 is a plan view, and Fig. 10 an edgeview, showing the endof the lacing flattened at right angles to the bodyof the lacing and cut at an angle. Fig. 11 is a plan view showing aU-shaped stiffener inserted in the end of the lacing shown in Fig. 10.Fig.'12 is a transverse section on the line 3 3, Fig. l1. Fig. 13 is aplan View showing the upper face of the lacing depressed into theopening of the stidener and with the end folded over. Fig. 14 is atransverse section on .the line et 4, Fig. 13. Fig. l5 is a View showingthe completed tip; and Fig. 16 is a transverse section on the line 5 5,Fig. 15, Figs. 2 to 16, inclusive, being on a larger scale than Fig. l.

The fabric A of which the lacing is com# posed is a fiattened tubularfabric. A metallic stiffener B, preferably provided with rounded ends,as shown in Fig. 2, is inserted.

, in the end of the .tubular fabric A, with the end of the fabricextending a short distance beyond the end of the stiifener, as indicatedin dotted lines in Fig. 3. The projecting end lof the fabric is thenfolded over, as shown in Fig. 5, and then the stiener and fabric arerolled or bent into the form shown in` l Figs. 6 and 7. If preferred,the metallic stiffener B may be bent into U form, as shown in Fig. 8,before it is inserted in the end of the tubular fabric, in which casethe projecting end of the fabric is folded over and tucked into theopening of the U -shaped stiifener, and the upper side or layer of thebody of the fabric is depressed` into said opening, thereby drawing thelower side or layer of the tubular fabric snugly around the U-shapedstiffener, as shown in Fig. 7. Pressure is then applied to cause theedges of the U-shaped stidener to approach each other to close theopening and' complete the tip'into the form shown in Figs. 15 and 16. Aswill be seen, the metallic stiffener in the completed tip is in the formof a split tube, and the folded-over end of the tubular fabric and theside edges thereof are clamped in the split in the tube, whereby themetallic stiener is firmly and securely held in place in the end of thetubular lacing, and a tip is provided in which the metallic stienerisentirely'concealed from view, being covered and surrounded by the fabricof the lacing.

In Figs. 9 to 16, inclusive, isshown an iinproved method of applying themetallic stiener to a tubular lacing which facilitates the operation andproduces a neater appearance in the finished article. The end of thetubular fabric is'flattened at right angles to the body of the fabric,as shown at a, Figs. 9 and l0, and the end of the fabric is then cutdiagonally or at an angle, as shown at b in said figures. The end of thefabric is then .flattened'back to its original position and the U-shapedstiffener inserted in the end of the tubular fabric in the positionshown in Fig. 11. As will be seen from said figure, there is much lessfabric projecting beyond the end of the stiener and less fabric to befolded over, the upper layer of the tubular fabric beyond the end of thestiffener being entirely removed and the lower layer being materiallycut away and narrowed. There is therefore only the narrowed end of thelower layer to IOC) the end of the finished tip will be correspond-`ingly sm aller and neater in appearance, while at the same time thefolded-over end of the fabric, as well as the side edges thereof, willbe firmly clamped and held in the split of the split tube formed by thestiifener, and said stiiener will be securely held in the end of thetubular fabric and will be entirely covered and concealed from view.

While it is preferred for convenience to bend the metallic stiffener ina U shape ,be-

fore it is inserted in the end of the tubular fabric, it will beunderstood that in both of the methods above described it is immaterial,so far as the main feature of the invention is concerned, whether thestiener be thus first bent or whether the metallic stiifener is insertedin a fiat form into the end of the fabric and the stiffener and fabricthen bent or rolled up together.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

l. A tubular lacing having a stiffener inserted in the end of thetubular fabric composing the lacing and held in place therein by havingthe side edges of the fabric clamped by the stiffener, substantially asdescribed.

2. A tubular lacing having a stiffener inserted in the end of thetubular fabric composing'the lacing and held in place therein by havinga folded-over end portion of the fabric and the side edges thereofclamped by the stiifener, substantially as described.

3. A tubular lacing having a stiffener inserted in the end of thetubular fabric composing the lacing, said-stiener being in the form of asplit tube with one layer of the fabric tucked in the opening of thetube and with the side edges of the fabric clamped by the tube,substantially as described.'

4. A tubular lacing having a stiener inserted in the end of the tubularfabric composing the lacing with the end of the fabric cut at an angleand with said cut end folded over into and clamped by the stiffener,substantially as described.

5. A lacing-tip comprising a tubular lacing and a plate incased withinthe tubular fabric end thereof, the two layers of the fabric and theplate forming a unitary longitudinallybent structure, substantially asdescribed.

6. A lacing-tip comprising a tubular lacing and a metallic plate incasedwithin the tubular fabric end thereof having both of its sides coveredby the fabric, the two layers of the fabric and the plate forming aunitary longitudinally-bent structure having the fabric covering thelongitudinal edges of the plate, substantially as described.

7. A lacing-tip comprising a tubular lacing and a metallic plate incasedwithin the fabric end thereof, said plate and two layers of fabric beingcompressed transversely to form the lacing-tip, substantially asdescribed.

8. A tubular lacing, short metallic plates in the tubular ends thereof,a single section or portion of the tubular lacing covering both sides ofeach of said plates, said plates and ends being bent longitudinally ofthe lacing to present in cross-section au outer covering of fabric, abent metallic plate and two thicknesses of fabric in the space betweenthe bent portions of the metallic plate, substantially as described.

9. A lacing-tip comprising a tubular lacing and a metallic plate incasedwithin a tubular end thereof, said plate and the layers of said endbeing pressed together closely, transversely to form the lacing-tip andhaving the fabric covering the longitudinal edges of the plate,substantially as described.

10. Lacing tips, comprising the tubular ends of a seamless tubularlacing, a short oblong metallic plate snugly fitted in each of said endswhen in the flat, said plates and said ends forming when foldedlongitudinally in the finished product substantially circles incross-section, substantially as described.

.PELEG JAMES CONGDON.

Witnesses:

W. H. THURs'roN, J. H. THURs'roN.

